PebbleRack

Guide 13 of 25 · beginner

Create Your First Proxmox Virtual Machine

Build a small disposable Linux VM and verify its network and guest agent.

Source-verified · Not lab-testedOfficial sources checked 2026-09-29. No PebbleRack hardware compatibility claim.

Outcome

You will create a disposable Linux virtual machine, install its operating system, and verify access. This is a learning guest on an existing supported Proxmox host; it says nothing about compatibility with the planned Pebble AI Pro 128.

Before you start

Complete the network and storage decisions in guides 11 and 12. Download a current installation ISO directly from the Linux distribution and verify it using that publisher's instructions. Know where VM disks and ISO images will live and how much free space is available. Pick a unique VM ID and name. Avoid placing real personal data in the first experiment.

Steps

  1. Upload the installer. In Proxmox, select the storage configured for ISO images, choose ISO Images → Upload, and select the verified file. Confirm it appears on the intended store. Do not upload it into a backup-only store.
  2. Create the guest. Select Create VM, enter a unique ID and descriptive name, select the ISO and Linux guest type, and choose the guest-disk store from your plan. Start with modest CPU, memory, and disk values that fit the host. Do not allocate all host resources to one guest; the host itself needs memory and storage headroom. Review the summary before finishing.
  3. Choose network attachment. Attach the guest network device to the intended bridge, often vmbr0 for the basic trusted-LAN lab. Use a supported virtual NIC model from the Proxmox VM documentation. If the guest will be exposed beyond your trusted LAN, revisit isolation and firewall design before starting it.
  4. Install the guest operating system. Start the VM, open Console, and follow the distribution installer. Identify the virtual disk carefully. The guest installer erases its selected virtual disk; it must not be a passed-through physical drive containing existing data. Create a non-root administrative account and install updates inside the guest.
  5. Enable useful integration. Proxmox documents the QEMU Guest Agent as a guest-side service that can report IP addresses and help coordinate backup filesystem operations. Install the guest agent using the Linux distribution's package instructions, enable and start it inside the VM, then enable the agent in the VM's Proxmox options. This is optional for a first boot but worth doing before backups.
  6. Record the build. Note VM ID, OS version, CPU, memory, virtual disk store, bridge, IP or DHCP reservation, and recovery priority in private inventory. Take a baseline backup once guide 15's destination is configured.

Check it worked

The guest boots after a restart, obtains an address on the intended network, can reach its update repository, and can be reached using the access method you deliberately enabled. If you installed the guest agent, Proxmox reports guest information after the agent starts.

If it fails or rollback

For no boot, check console output, ISO selection, boot order, and whether the guest OS installer finished. For no network, compare the selected bridge and the guest's DHCP/static settings; do not change host networking while debugging one guest. A disposable VM can be removed after confirming its ID and that no data needs saving. Never delete an unrelated guest to reclaim space.

Safety and data notes

Guest isolation is useful but not a replacement for updates, backups, or access controls. A snapshot is not an off-host backup. Avoid opening SSH or the Proxmox UI to the public internet merely to reach the lab remotely.

Sources

Official Proxmox documentation checked 2026-09-29: VM settings and guest agent, storage content, backup behavior.

Next guide

Continue with guide 14 to compare a container on the same host.